Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Overview

Treatment And Prevention

The first step to treating and preventing COPD is to immediately quit smoking, which is also the only way to keep COPD from worsening. Many medications treat the symptoms of COPD such as bronchodilator inhalers, steroid inhalers, combination inhalers, oral steroids, and antibiotics.

Some other forms of treatment include oxygen therapy and pulmonary rehabilitation programs. Oxygen therapy may be needed if the patient does not have enough oxygen in their blood. Most people will only need oxygen supplements while they are physically active or while sleeping. Pulmonary rehabilitation programs combine exercise, nutrition advice and counseling with specialists to increase the overall quality of life. If COPD gets severe, and cannot be treated with medications, surgery may be an option.

Now that you know how to treat and prevent COPD, keep reading to learn some lifestyle and home remedies to make it easier to live with.